Etymograph

English

vagary

Vagary comes from Italian vagare ‘wander’, and goes back to Latin vagus.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvagus‘wandering’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEvagārī‘to wander’
  3. Italianc. 1300–presentvagare‘wander’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1871vagary

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvagus‘wandering’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEvagārī‘to wander’
  3. Italianc. 1300–presentvagare‘wander’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1871vagary

Earliest quotation: 1871, Charles Kingsley, La Brea: “It now turns out that the Pitch Lake, like…”

Formed from vague + -ery

Latin vagus ‘uncertain, vague’

Middle French vague

English vague

The story

Later apparently reinterpreted in English as vague + -ery but without changing the spelling.

Linked words

through Latin vagus ‘wandering’

vague, vagabond, vagus, 8 more

Today it means

noun An erratic, unpredictable occurrence or action.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Latin vagus / vagary

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